College Baseball guide for 2025 season

The 2025 College Baseball season has high standards. 2024 saw Georgia’s Charlie Condon break the new-era home run record with 37 bombs while leading the Dawgs up against fierce competition in the SEC.

SEC studs Jac Caglianone (Florida) and Christian Moore (Tennessee) both also hit over 30 bombs in what was an explosive season.

The ACC would present its own list of Dawgs with UNC, Virginia, NC State, and FSU bringing teams into the Elite 8 in Omaha. Eventually, Moore – the slugging second baseman for Tennessee – led the Volunteers up the Rocky Top to the title. They took down Texas A&M in a three-game set, but more on the Aggies soon.

This season presents its own series of exciting players and storylines to combat last year’s excitement as college baseball looks to continue to build its fame following a record-setting 2023.

The Leaders

Texas A&M

Texas A&M enters the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, leading the way for the SEC who has placed six teams in the top 10. They are led by No. 1 overall draft prospect Jace LaViolette who started the season with three bombs on opening weekend.

The Aggies (3-0) swept unranked Elon and won’t face a true test until next weekend where they’ll see No. 19 Oklahoma State. They face a brutal SEC schedule this year and will be more than ready come tournament time.

UVA

The Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) had a rough start to the season with an opening day 5-4 loss to Michigan and struggled against Villanova in game two. They rebounded with a 7-0 win over Rice.

Like Texas A&M, the Cavs have a rough schedule in the ACC as the two conferences will joust back and forth for the top spots when June rolls around.

They play No. 7 Oregon State (3-0) on Friday night but won’t have any more ranked opponents until No. 17 Duke comes to Charlottesville in a month.

DBU and UCSB

Dallas Baptist (3-0) and UC Santa Barbara (3-0) are the two highest ranked mid-major teams at No. 20 and No. 21, respectively. DBU Head Coach Dan Heefner has created a perennial contender year in and year out. The Patriots are one of only five teams to advance to the postseason in each of the last ten years.

UCSB has the No. 2 prospect in the draft in RHP Tyler Brenmer. Brenmer boasts elite velocity with a 96+ MPH fastball and two disgusting breaking pitches in his changeup and slider.

Look out for both of these flyer programs to make runs come June if they can hold up consistency and dominate their in-conference matchups.

The Players

Both LaViolette and Brenmer have already been mentioned but this year is stacked top to bottom with talent. LHP Jamie Arnold out of FSU went 11-3 last year with a sub-3 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 105 innings.

Cam Cannarella (OF) out of Clemson will lead the way for the Tigers after a strong 2024 campaign and an even stronger 2023, which he will look to replicate. Cannarella hit .337 last season but had a .387 batting average in 2023, to go along with a 1.022 OPS.

Another outfielder to keep note of is Ethan Petry (South Carolina) who, like Cannarella, had strong 2024 seasons but stronger 2023 seasons and will both look to return to peak form and boost their draft stock.

Indiana’s Devin Taylor is yet another man in the grass to watch after an explosive last season with a 1.150 OPS and a .360 batting average. He will lead the Hoosiers potentially on a deep tourney run as a consensus top-3 Big Ten team this season.

In an outfield-heavy draft, look for catchers Luke Stevenson (UNC) and Ike Irish (Auburn) to shine behind the plate. A .285 BA with a .985 OPS for Stevenson in ‘24 makes him primed for a breakout with Irish coming off of a .319 and 1.030 OPS year.

The 2025 campaign will feature flyers like DBU, UCSB and Cincinnati out of the Big 12 with LSU’s Jared Jones and Vandy’s R.J. Austin looking to breakout like many expect.

A big year is ahead with the road to Omaha beginning now. Turn on ESPN+ and have a great season.

Jeremy Rose is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jrose0531@gmail.com.